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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23654713">Cascade</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Off/pseuds/Off'>Off</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Half-Life, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - No Quirks (My Hero Academia), Crossover, F/M, Half-Life AU, No Half-Life Characters</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-04-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 22:48:02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,972</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23654713</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Off/pseuds/Off</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>A My Hero Academia Half-Life AU.</p><p>Izuku Midoriya and Ochako Uraraka work at the Black Mesa Research Facility. The former as a theoretical physicist and the latter as a security guard.</p><p>After a fateful meeting between the two on the ride into work, the story follows the two of them as they make their escape together amidst the aftermath of an experiment that does not go according to plan.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Midoriya Izuku/Uraraka Ochako</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>15</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Cascade</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Every since I got into MHA last year, I've found myself having the tendency to be like "What if this but smashed together with MHA?" whenever I'm watching something else or playing a game.</p><p>This fic is the product of that line of thinking following me playing the completed version of Black Mesa earlier this year.</p><p>I'm a big fan of IzuOcha so this fic also has that ship at the forefront.</p><p>So without further ado, what if IzuOcha but they both work for Black Mesa during the incident?</p><p>What if Half-Life but with the cast of MHA instead?</p><p>Let's find out.</p><p>Before you begin reading this, I would like to add that this is currently rated Teen and Up though this may change later due to the graphic nature of Half-Life, depending on how exactly I express that in this story.</p>
    </blockquote><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Izuku is very late for work and scrambles to head in.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This is actually my second time publishing this chapter. I had posted a much earlier version a couple months ago for about 12 hours but then decided to delete it. I read it back after sleeping on it and came to the conclusion that I could do better.</p><p>Specifically, I had a bunch of major ideas on how to improve upon it as well as expand with. I'm also ready to commit to some more character roles now besides Izuku's and Ochako's.</p><p>The original version got 5 whole hits in the time it was up so I’m curious if any of those people actually read it through. If you did and you’re here again, welcome back! I hope I’ve done a better job this time.</p><p>Without further ado, it’s time once again for this idea to see the light of day.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was quiet in Izuku’s dorm room, the space finding itself only lit by the hallway lights spilling in under the door. He was still in bed with his sheets interwoven around his limbs and some of his pillows cast down to the floor below. An onlooker might’ve come to the conclusion that he’d had a rather unruly night’s sleep – and he did – but he actually felt rather well rested nonetheless. This was a fairly unusual occurrence since he began his career at Black Mesa; he still hadn’t quite adjusted to the schedule and accommodations. </p><p>He sat up and took a deep breath, opting to just enjoy the silence of the dimly lit space for a few moments. He wasn’t usually a fan of these underground concrete boxes that passed for dormitories at this place but he had to admit it afforded them some peace and quiet during non-work hours. That was of course providing it wasn’t game night, it did tend to get noisy then. </p><p>All that considered, he was feeling pretty good about the day ahead; at least for a few solitary moments. Unfortunately for him, his feelings of optimism were short lived. The silence was broken by a quiet vibration emanating from atop his bedside table. Izuku turned to pick up his phone, draping his feet off the side of the bed as he did so; still tangled in his sheets. The screen awoke as he picked it up and the color drained from his face almost as quickly. </p><p>He had not one, not two but <em> five </em> missed alarm notifications populating his screen. And just below those he also found several messages from Iida, one of the Sector C security guards. Izuku considered him a friend and a generally pleasant person to work with <em> but </em>he also knew one thing very well: Iida was a stickler for the rules and regulations, regardless of his personal relationship with you.</p><p>And today, Iida was keen to let Izuku know he was late for work.</p><p>Very late.</p><p>
  <em> Oh no. </em>
</p><p>His eyes darted to the clock in the upper right corner of the screen to ascertain just how late he really was. It was already 8:32 AM and he was <em> supposed </em> to be at work two minutes ago. He hadn’t even gotten dressed yet!</p><p>Izuku shot up from his bed, only to make friends with the floor a few seconds later as the sheets entangling his legs caused him to fall face first. Luckily, his fall was cushioned a little bit by the aged blue carpet but it was still far from a pleasant experience. He quickly freed himself from the polyester bindings and stood up, successfully this time, and made a beeline to his dresser.</p><p>He opened the top drawer where he kept several instances of his work uniform and swapped his nightwear for one of them as fast as he reasonably could. As he was a member of the science team this meant putting on khakis, a blue dress shirt, a lab coat and a predominantly red striped tie. The last bit was always something he struggled with and had, at this point, just resigned to wearing incorrectly. </p><p>He also pulled out a pair of socks and began looking around for his sneakers. He had a bad habit of kicking them off in some random direction whenever he’d come back to his room for the day so this was always a bit of a hunt. This time they seemed to find themselves adjacent to his book shelf, a somewhat modern piece filled to the brim with equal parts physics books and comic books. After retrieving his red and white footwear, he went and sat down on his bed to put them on.</p><p>The rest of the uniform was mandated by the company but shoes were the one part where the science team was allowed to have some personality, if they so choose. As long as they were closed-toe, they were more or less allowed. Given this fact, Izuku had decided from the get-go to forgo the recommended dress shoes in favor of something more familiar. He'd worn a particular style of shoe ever since he was a kid and he didn’t see much reason to change it if he didn’t have to. It was sort of his trademark footwear at this point anyways, it would be weird to see him in something else.</p><p>He put some extra care into tying his laces today, not wanting to fall on his face for the second time since he’d awoken. Now he was finally ready to get a move on. He opened his door and stepped out into the hallway. No one one else was there nor was there anyone in the living room further down the hall.</p><p>
  <em> Yep, seems like I’m the only one still here. </em>
</p><p>Despite being pressed for time, Izuku knew it was a bad idea to head into work on an empty stomach and decided to made a quick stop in the kitchen. He also knew he didn’t have time to prepare anything complicated so he went with a simple option: A fresh apple out of the bowl on the counter. Tokoyami was especially fond of the fruit so he made sure to always keep a bunch there for everyone, it was really thoughtful and Izuku appreciated it now especially. He slipped the fruit into his pocket and made his way down to the tram station.</p><p>This tram station was simply one node of a huge interconnected network of electrified rails. Black Mesa personnel could use this transit system to get just about anywhere in the facility, providing they had the security clearance to be there. Its grandeur was something Izuku still appreciated to some extent even if the luster had somewhat faded from having to ride the same route back and forth every single day. It was simply an impressive feat of engineering.</p><p>As he rode the escalator down to the station platform, Izuku surveyed the room to see if anyone else he recognised was milling about. It was nearly a ghost town though, save for a janitor mopping up on the bridge between the two sides of the station. He also noticed a security guard leaning against a wall on the opposite side of the tracks, playfully twirling her baton.</p><p>Izuku made his way over to the time table on his side, studying it for a moment before his eyes stopped on the first tram bound for Sector C. The vehicle’s estimated arrival time read 8:50 AM. Without any choice but to wait for it, he let out a sigh and glanced at the large clock mounted on the far wall of the station. He still had about 7 minutes to go before it would arrive.</p><p>
  <em> Might as well get comfortable for a bit. </em>
</p><p>He made his way over to one of the padded metal benches lined up along the walls. Since he had free choice of seating, he opted to take a seat close to the edge of the platform. Once he got situated, he took the apple out of his pocket and dusted off some lint that had gripped on to its shiny surface.</p><p>He wondered if he should go wash it off in the bathroom sink first but then decided that, all things considered, he’s pretty routinely exposed to things more dangerous than some pocket lint so he'd <em>probably</em> be fine.</p><p>He took his time eating the apple, trying to calm his nerves as he enjoyed the tart flavor of it. For something that required no prep time, it was a pretty decent substitute for a proper breakfast. Still though, he was already looking forward to having an actual meal at lunchtime. For all the things that Black Mesa skimped out on, the food was definitely not one of them. Izuku’s train of thought regarding what he wanted for lunch later — chicken tenders had been a strong contender — had stopped abruptly though when he saw a tram enter the station.</p><p>From a distance, he could just barely spot the timetable updating to indicate the 8:50 AM tram had arrived.</p><p>At 8:46 AM.</p><p>On the other side of the station!</p><p>Izuku nearly shot up through the ceiling when he realised his mistake. He’d forgotten to check which track it was arriving on! The next thing he knew, he was sprinting up the escalator. He <em> had to </em> get on that tram or else he was seriously screwed. He apologised as he ran by the janitor, nearly tripping over his mop bucket and knocking over the wet floor sign in the process. He also skillfully tossed the rest of his apple away in the garbage during his mad dash; food wasn’t allowed on the trams. </p><p>He barreled down the escalator and just about threw himself into the tram car after making it across the station in a blisteringly fast 24 seconds, not that anyone was keeping track. Izuku wasn’t in terrible shape or anything but that sprint still took the wind out of his sails. He had to pause for a moment in the corner just to catch his breath. Once he’d finally gotten himself back to a normal breathing pace, however, something else was quick to put him on edge once again.</p><p>It wasn’t the sudden jerk of the tram car as it got moving along the rail or the automated voice of its loudspeaker announcing it was now 8:47AM. It was another voice altogether.</p><p>A real human’s voice, a <em> girl’s </em> voice no less, coming from inside the small metal box he was now riding inside.</p><p>“Are you okay?”</p><p>Izuku slowly turned to find the female security guard he’d seen a few minutes prior standing just a couple feet away from him. If it wasn’t for the glass windows of the tram, he would’ve accidentally thrown himself overboard with how quickly he’d backed away from her. His face turned a shade of red not too dissimilar from the apple he’d had before, “O-oh! Sorry! I didn’t mean to barge in here and make a scene!”</p><p>She laughed, “It’s fine! Really! I just wanted to make sure you didn’t bang your head on the glass or somethin’ with how fast you shot in here.”</p><p>He blinked a couple times and stared back at the stranger in front of him. <em> Oh geez, I wish she didn’t see that. </em>She went to take her seat and he relaxed a bit against the glass as the tram advanced into the tunnel, the lighting becoming notably dimmer as it receded from the bright fluorescents in the station. Letting out a sigh, he went and took a seat across from her.</p><p>He was never <em> good </em> at talking to girls but something about her made him feel a little more relaxed than he usually did. She had a very cheery demeanor that helped absolve much of his embarrassment about the previous few moments. She’d even managed to push aside his anxiety about the fact that he’s terribly late, although only for a moment.</p><p>While his situation was finally looking up and he was <em> finally </em> on his way into work, he was going to be nearly 30 minutes late by the time he actually got there. He felt his anxiety welling up inside him again. How was he going to explain himself? Another moment later though and his thoughts on the matter were quelled once more when she began speaking again.</p><p>“So... what’s the rush?” she said, tilting her head ever so slightly.</p><p><em> Oh yeah, right, she’s probably wondering WHY I did that. </em> He rubbed the back of his head and stared towards the floor, “I’m uh… <em> very </em>late today.”</p><p>She leaned her head back and rested it against the glass, “Ah, I s'pose that makes sense.” Turning her gaze to the aging lights overhead she continued, “Me too.” Her response elicited a weird sense of relief for him. Sure, her also being late didn’t <em> help </em> him but he found some solace in knowing he wasn’t alone in that boat. It fell quiet between them again for a few moments as she kept her gaze fixed above them.</p><p>He took this opportunity to take a closer look at her. It was obvious she was a security guard from the uniform, that much he’d already figured out. He did notice she was currently lacking a few staples of the getup though; notably the body armor, helmet and holstered pistol. He also couldn’t help but notice her chestnut colored hair, fashioned into a bob-cut with two particularly long locks in the front.</p><p>It only occurred to him how awkwardly long he’d been staring at her when she looked back down and reignited the conversation, his face turning red once again as she said “So… I saw you come down from the dorms. I s'pose you actually live over here, huh?”</p><p>“Y-yeah, that’s right.” A curious question came to his mind because of the particulars of hers, “I’m guessing you don’t? Now that I think of it, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you around before...”</p><p>She was quick to fill him in, “Oh! Yeah, I live topside and I’m usually stationed next door in Sector D. Seems like they want some extra security down in Sector C today though.”</p><p><em> Next door </em> was a pretty oversimplified way of describing the layout of this place but he understood what she meant. What she had said actually only raised more questions though, “Why didn’t you just take a tram from up there then?”</p><p>“Well, a lot of my job is mainly just standing around so I figured I’d try taking the scenic route instead to get in some extra cardio.” She awkwardly rubbed the back of her head, “Wound up making myself late though trying to find that station, this place can be confusing!”</p><p>She was very nonchalant about the situation which really helped keep his anxiety in check; he even chuckled at her remark. This place <em> was </em> confusing and he was quick to voice his own discontent for the convoluted layout. Shortly thereafter, their conversation returned to something she’d mentioned a moment prior, “By the way, do you happen to know what the extra security is for? Since you work down here.”</p><p>He put his hand on his chin as he considered it, “Hmm. Maybe today is the day.” He hadn’t really been given the specifics yet but he explained what little he currently knew. That being the fact that they were supposed to be receiving a rare and exotic material for analysis sometime in the near future, “Whatever it is, maybe it arrived today. If that’s the case, the Administrator probably wants to make sure no one runs off with it.”</p><p>“As if anyone could just <em> run </em> out of here with something.” She couldn’t help but laugh at that mildly ridiculous notion, “You’re probably right though, just in case someone tries.”</p><p>At this rate his face was going to have a perpetual red hue. He wasn’t used to making girls laugh either, at least from something other than his own screw ups. The two of them continued going back and forth as their ride continued and it really helped bolster his confidence. He’d somehow managed to hold a decent conversation with a girl, one he didn’t really know no less. </p><p>Although maybe that was why, she was easy to talk to <em> because </em>she didn’t know him and hadn’t been around to see him fail yet. Or maybe this was all a dream even, he wasn’t actually late for work and this girl didn’t really exist. He didn’t really like that idea though, she’d made this ride enjoyable despite the circumstances. </p><p>Regardless though, it was coming to an end. </p><p>The tram came to a stop beside a much smaller platform directly in the tunnel itself. This one measured maybe five by ten feet at most and was pretty barren. It was only “furnished” by a couple gutted computer cases sitting off to one side with some crates on the other. In the middle, a large metal door was set in the wall. Its gray surface was plain with the exception of the word “SECURITY” printed on it in large black text.</p><p>This was her stop and in just a couple minutes, he’d make it to his too where he’d have to explain himself. Unfortunately for him, the confidence he’d gained from their conversation was about to crumble to dust.</p><p>All because of one simple question.</p><p>“Well, this is where I get off. I’m Ochako by the way. Ochako Uraraka.” She got up from her seat and stood in front of him for a moment, “Do you maybe want to have lunch together later after your analysis? You’ve got me super interested in whatever it is you folks do down here and I’ll be in the area.”</p><p>“Oh! It’s been nice meeting you. I’m Izuku. Izuku Midor-” Wait, <em> what </em> did she just ask? Did… did he really hear that right? She wants to get lunch with him? He sat there frozen, mid-introduction, attempting to process what he’d just heard. Was she just messing with him?</p><p>She stared back at him frozen in place, “Um… did I say something wrong? Are you o-”</p><p>Before she could ask him that for the second time, he managed to find his voice again long enough to fully answer her, “M-midoriya! Izuku Midoriya! I’d love to!” <em> Hold on, what?! </em></p><p>“Great! I’ll find you down in the cafeteria at lunchtime then,” She leaned down to study the name badge affixed to his lab coat, “Doctor Midoriya.” Before he knew it, she was outside waving a keycard in front of a scanner next to the door, disappearing inside a moment later.</p><p>This left him all alone with his thoughts.</p><p>
  <em> What just happened? </em>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>And that’s a wrap on this opening chapter.</p><p>I hope you're interested to see where I take this and I also hope this isn’t actually garbage. To be quite honest, I’m not really sure where I stand as a storyteller and a writer. I hope I was able to put together something at least half decent.</p><p>This project is certainly going to have a lot of fairly complicated things to work out so I’m not sure when I’ll be able to update again but hopefully it won’t be too far off.</p><p>Before I go, I want to talk about a couple details in this chapter. </p><p>  <b>The Dorms</b></p><p>In the Half-Life base game as well as the original version of this chapter, the story begins at the tram station. You never see the dorms at all. In this, I decided to explore Izuku’s morning routine there a bit to flesh out the start some more. I’m mainly mentioning this though to say that many of the details within that area are actually derived from the somewhat obscure Half-Life: Decay, specifically the “Domestic Violence” mission.</p><p>  <b>The Science Team Uniform</b></p><p>I opted to describe the science team uniforms as they are in Black Mesa rather than the original Half-Life. I personally like the design of the latter more. The notable difference between the two is that Black Mesa opted for khakis instead of white pants.</p><p>  <b>Deciding Character Roles</b></p><p>Deciding to drop Izuku in place of Freeman was easy, though I would be lying through my teeth if I said there isn’t still a lot to figure out about this.</p><p>Deciding to make Ochako a security guard though? That was inspired by <a href="https://www.deviantart.com/blueike/art/Commish-My-Half-Life-Acadamia-805796757">this fanart</a> someone showed me. I just thought she looked cool in the uniform and decided to go with the matchup. Silly reasoning, probably, but I have lots of ideas to flesh it out beyond that.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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